Democracy Paradox

20/02/2024

Lots of superficial talk about immigration out there.

So the podcast invited Jon Blitzer of The New Yorker to discuss his book Everyone Who is Gone is Here from Penguin Press.

Give it a listen. It's an absolutely amazing interview.

Jonathan Blitzer discusses his new book Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here: The United States, Central America, and the Making of a Crisis

13/02/2024

According to Minxin Pei, China's surveillance state is far older and way more labor-intensive than most realize.

His new book Sentinel State is out today from Harvard University Press. Listen to this interview before you start the📚.

Minxin Pei discusses his new book The Sentinel State: Surveillance and the Survival of Dictatorship in China

06/02/2024

How do we repair constitutions after a coup❓

Listen to Adem Abebe of ConstitutionNet explain how to respond to West African countries where militaries have seized power.

The 3rd episode on constitution building in partnership with International IDEA.
https://democracyparadox.com/2024/02/06/after-a-coup-can-the-constitutional-order-be-repaired-adem-abebe-on-rebuilding-constitutions-in-west-africa/

Adem Abebe explains how organizations like International IDEA work to repair constitutional orders after military coups

30/01/2024

Poland was a textbook case of democratic backsliding. Will it become a pathbreaking case for democratic restoration? Tomás Daly thinks it will.

Check out this second episode made in partnership with
ConstitutionNet & International IDEA

Tomás Daly explains how Poland can begin the difficult process of constitutional repair and democratic renewal.

23/01/2024

The best biography of Volodymyr Zelensky so far is by Simon Shuster.

This week's podcast discusses Zelensky and what he means for Ukrainian politics, its democracy, and its future.

Listen on Spotify, Apple or read the transcript👇

Simon Shuster discusses his new book The Showman: Inside the Invasion that Shook the World and Made a Leader of Volodymyr Zelensky.

19/01/2024

The will be writes Democracy Paradox host Justin Kempf in


Learn how spoken word media has changed the discourse in how we think and talk about democracy.

Spoken-word media has changed mainstream political discourse–and how we discuss democracy.

16/01/2024

When politics has to solve the problems that it has caused, how can politics do that? asks Marcela Rios Tobar in this conversation about the failed constitutional efforts in Chile.

Check out this episode made in partnership with
ConstitutionNet & International IDEA
https://democracyparadox.com/2024/01/16/marcela-rios-tobar-on-the-failed-constitutional-process-in-chile/

Marcela Rios Tobar of International IDEA on Chile's failed efforts to draft a new democratic constitution.

09/01/2024

Is democracy fragile or resilient? Can democracy survive the ongoing threat of populists?

Kurt Weyland argues democracy nearly always survives populist threats. This conversation explores why democracy is so resilient. Listen on Apple, Spotify or here👇

Kurt Weyland discusses his new book Democracy's Resilience to Populism's Threat: Countering Global Alarmism.

05/01/2024

Rachel Schwartz, Ph.D., an assistant professor of International and Area Studies in the David L. Boren College of International Studies, is featured in Democracy Paradox's Top 5 Must Read Books About Democracy from 2023 for her book "Undermining the State from Within."

Read more: https://link.ou.edu/41L30ok

02/01/2024

Is a New Jim Crow Emerging in India?

In this episode Ashutosh Varshney draws eery parallels between white supremacy in the American South one hundred years ago and Hindu Supremacy in India today.

Based on his recent article in Journal of Democracy - National Endowment for Democracy. Listen👇

Ashutosh Varshney discusses his recent article (coauthored with Connor Staggs) Hindu Nationalism and the New Jim Crow.

26/12/2023

Happy Holidays!

This week's episode features Josiah Ober of Stanford University & Hoover Institution. We discuss his book "The Civic Bargain" (coauthored with Brook Manville) from Princeton University Press.
Listen on Apple, Spotify, or read the transcript👇

Josiah Ober discusses his book (coauthored with Brook Manville) The Civic Bargain: How Democracy Survives.

22/12/2023

Can forestall or prevent democratic backsliding? Or are they hapless casualties when illiberal populists have power?

Read today's blog from Sumit Bisarya of International IDEA. He offers insights from his efforts on constitution building.

Sumit Bisarya discusses the role of constitutions and constitutional design in democratic backsliding in modern democracies.

19/12/2023

Are Islamist parties democratic or authoritarian❓

This is the question at the heart of this conversation with Sebnem Gumuscu. We discuss Islamist parties & movements like Ennahdha, Muslim Brotherhood & AKP.
Listen on Spotify, Apple or read the transcript👇

Sebnem Gumuscu discusses her book Democracy or Authoritarianism: Islamist Governments in Turkey, Egypt and Tunisia.

12/12/2023

Can America Fight Back Against the Authoritarian Economic Statecraft of China❓

Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian believes we can. She discusses her book Beijing Rules.

Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify for Podcasters or read the transcript👇

Bethany Allen, Axios China Reporter, discusses her book Beijing Rules: How China Weaponized Its Economy to Confront the World

08/12/2023

Greece and Spain both democratized early in the 3rd wave. They were among the worst affected by the European debt crisis in the 2010s.

Yet they have followed different political paths. Alexandros Ntaflos explains why in today's blog👇

Alexander Ntaflos explains why Greece and Spain have followed different political paths despite similar backgrounds.

05/12/2023

Does democracy die in darkness❓ Is transparency always preferable to secrecy❓

These are some of the questions at the heart of this week's episode with Katlyn Carter of University of Notre Dame.

We discuss her book Democracy in Darkness from Yale University Press.

Katlyn Carter discusses her book Democracy in Darkness: Secrecy and Transparency in the Age of Revolutions.

28/11/2023

Is this an age of discontent? Does this explain the rise of populism and political extremism?

This conversation with Rachel Navarre & Matthew Henry Rhodes-Purdy tries to understand the causes of democratic crisis and what can be done to avoid them.

Check it out👇

Rachel Navarre and Matthew Rhodes-Purdy discuss their book The Age of Discontent from Cambridge University Press.

14/11/2023

🎙️Episode 178🎙️

Alexey Navalny "wanted to be seen as a politician, as a candidate, as a future leader of his country. He especially never wanted to be seen as a dissident," says David M. Herszenhorn
of Washington Post

We discuss Alexey Navalny as a person and a symbol

David Herszenhorn of the Washington Post discusses his new book Dissident: Alexey Navalny: Profile of a Political Prisoner.

07/11/2023

🎙️Episode 177🎙️

"Leadership is not a formula. It’s not something that happens in a vacuum. It’s not just something that you can declare about yourself," says Moshik Temkin.

We discuss his book Warriors, Rebels, and Saints from
PublicAffairs.

Moshik Temkin discusses his book Warriors, Rebels, and Saints: The Art of Leadership from Machiavelli to Malcolm X.

31/10/2023

🎙️Episode 176🎙️

"So, what happened in the Philippines? That’s an example of what happens when autocrats and dictators rise and we let them," says Patricia Evangelista.

Listen on your favorite podcast app or read the complete transcript👇

Patricia Evangelista discusses her work as a trauma reporter and her book Some People Need Killing: A Memoir of Murder in my Country

24/10/2023

🎙️Episode 175🎙️

'Populism can be a wonderful thing where you’re actually appealing to what the voters want instead of what the powerful want,' says Cenk Uygur of TheYoungTurks.

We discuss his campaign and his new book Justice is Coming from St. Martin's Press.

Cenk Uygur of TYT discusses his unorthodox Presidential campaign as a Democrat and his latest book Justice Is Coming.

17/10/2023

🎙️Episode 174🎙️

"I think there we see very few successful examples of modern autocracies that are able to sustain themselves," says
Shadi Hamid.

We discuss what he calls the problem of democracy and why democracy is still the best form of governance.

Shadi Hamid discusses his book The Problem of Democracy: America, the Middle East, and the Rise and Fall of an Idea.

10/10/2023

🎙️Episode 173🎙️

"Writing a book like that makes you really think brutally about the past," says Branko Milanovic of Stone Center on Socio-Economic Inequality.

We discuss his new book Visions of Inequality in the latest episode. Listen on your favorite app or read the transcript👇

Branko Milanovic discusses his recent book Visions of Inequality: From the French Revolution to the End of the Cold War.

03/10/2023

🎙️Episode 172🎙️

This week Yascha Mounk makes the rare return appearance onto the podcast!

He discusses his new book The Identity Trap: A Story of Ideas and Power in Our Time. Listen on your favorite app or read the transcript👇

Yascha Mounk discusses his most recent book The Identity Trap: A Story of Ideas and Power in Our Time from Penguin Press.

02/10/2023

https://democracyparadox.com/2023/10/02/behind-the-facade-the-dark-money-game-of-no-labels/
This latest blog post from Tiffany Muller of End Citizens United and Let America Vote caught us by surprise.

Definitely a must read for anyone concerned about eliminating dark money and corruption in politics.

Tiffany Muller provides a devastating critique of the No Labels Party for their use of dark money and hidden motivations